The leader of Barnet Council has awarded £10,000 of taxpayers' money to cover a cabinet colleague's legal fees over an investigation by the standards committee. The money will be paid to top solicitors to represent Councillor Brian Coleman, who is under investigation for an alleged breach of the Members' Code of Conduct.

Ye gods! What does Brian say?

When approached to comment on the matter, Mr Coleman denied he was the Councillor under investigation and vowed to sue this newspaper if it printed his name. He said: "This has absolutely nothing to do with me, nothing whatsoever, and if you say otherwise you will be hearing from my solicitor."

The investigation into Brian Coleman that has nothing to do with Brian Coleman was launched by the Barnet Standards Committee in March. According to the Barnet Times it followed "an allegation by a member of the public". According to Not The Barnet Times:

It seems incredible that £10,000 can be found to pay Brian Coleman's legal fees, even though the council's insurers were willing to provide cover at no cost to the taxpayer, but money cannot be found to improve the health of the community.

This is a reference to a report that a local sports club is facing closure due to Barnet Council putting its rent up. Not The Barnet Times is written by a local Conservative who is not impressed by the borough's Conservative administration led by Mike Freer. The report about the local sports club facing closure appeared in The Barnet Times. There is no suggestion that the Standards Committee investigation into Brian Coleman has anything to do with Brian Coleman. I hope that's all perfectly clear.